A US woman who shot and killed her husband and two adult children before taking her own life is thought to have committed the shocking crime as a result of being ostracised from the religion she was raised in.

A federal judge sentenced a former Arkansas judge Wednesday to five years in prison — a stiffer punishment than prosecutors recommended — after he admitted giving young male defendants lighter sentences in return for personal benefits that included sexual favours.

Every time I tell a mate I’m doing a story on cryptocurrency, they invariably ask me the same two questions: should they invest their own hard-earned money, and which cryptocurrency will get them a Lamborghini/yacht/island quickest?

In a 60 Minutes online exclusive, reporter Liz Hayes quizzed Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on his relationship with the unpredictable Twitter aficionado and US president Donald Trump ahead of their meeting at the White House Friday.

Legal action possible over ACT airport

The federal government has not ruled out legal action over the NSW government's decision to build homes in the flight path of Canberra Airport, Transport Minister Anthony Albanese says.

In its plans for the $400 million venture, the O'Farrell government on Tuesday approved the rezoning of the Tralee Housing Development to allow 2000 new homes south of Queanbeyan

But the federal government says the development will stymie its own plans for Canberra Airport.

Mr Albanese on Wednesday said court action remained a possibility and he had written to the NSW government, appealing for a reversal of the decision.

Canberra was the only airport in an Australian capital city that had a flight path free of housing development, Mr Albanese told reporters in Perth, while unveiling plans to improve aircraft noise monitoring in the city.

"You only have to talk to residents under the flight path who live in houses here in Perth or other capital cities to know that if you had a situation ... (like Canberra), it would be a pretty dumb idea to retrospectively fit housing under the flight path," he said.

"The NSW government has actually changed its planning zoning for under the flight path at Canberra Airport to allow housing development.

Related Articles

Mr Albanese said infrastructure that didn't have an impact on communities was a precious resource that should not be given away.

"So I'm very disappointed with the NSW government's decision," he said.

"We're looking at all of the options available to the commonwealth in order to intervene in this, and in the meantime, I've written to the NSW premier and planning minister asking them to reconsider this very bad policy decision."